HYDERABAD: Decks cleared for three senior IPS officers for DG rank
HYDERABAD: Three senior IPS officers of the 1995 batch — V V Srinivasa Rao, Swati Lakra, and Mahesh Bhagwat — are now set to be promoted to the rank of Director General (DG) after the government cleared all pending hurdles.
Recent retirements of Kothakota Srinivasa Reddy and Jitender, along with the voluntary retirement (VRS) of Ravi Gupta approved by the state government, have created three vacancies at the DG level.
Home department begins exercise for promotions
Officials said the state home department has started the process of sending the eligible officers’ names to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for approval. If the UPSC clears the list, the DG promotions are expected before December.
The DG rank is the highest position in the police hierarchy, and several officers have been waiting for months for their elevation. However, sources indicated that the DG promotion file and the proposal for a regular DGP appointment may be sent together, which could push the final notification to January.
List for DGP shortlist sent to UPSC
The government will send all eligible names to the UPSC, which will examine their seniority and service records. Based on this, UPSC will recommend three names to the state for appointment as regular DGP.
The list includes C V Anand (1991 batch), Vinayak Prabhakar Apte (1994 batch), Shiva Dhar Reddy (1994 batch), Abhilasha Bisht (1994 batch), Soumya Mishra, and Shikha Goel. Of these, three will be shortlisted, and one will be selected as the regular DGP.
Among them, seniority-wise, the 1991 batch’s C V Anand, and 1994 batch officers Shiva Dhar Reddy and Abhilasha Bisht are expected to feature in the final panel.
Vinayak Prabhakar Apte, who belongs to the Telangana cadre, has already conveyed his decision to continue in central service.
The state government has already appointed Shiva Dhar Reddy as DGP (Coordination), and sources said he is likely to be appointed as the full-fledged DGP. There is also talk within police circles that Ravi Gupta’s VRS was processed to pave the way for Reddy’s promotion.
